| Author | Cicero or Cornificius |
|---|---|
| Country | Roman Empire |
| Language | Latin |
| Subject | Rhetoric |
| Set in | Ancient Rome |
Publication date | ~ 90 BCE |
| Part of a series on |
| Rhetoric |
|---|
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The Rhetorica ad Herennium (Rhetoric for Herennius) is the oldest surviving Latin book on rhetoric, dating from the late 80s BC. [1] It was formerly attributed to Cicero or Cornificius, but is in fact of unknown authorship, sometimes ascribed to an unnamed doctor.
The Rhetorica ad Herennium was addressed to Gaius Herennius (otherwise unknown). The Rhetorica remained the most popular book on rhetoric during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was commonly used, along with Cicero's De Inventione , to teach rhetoric, and over one hundred manuscripts are extant. It was also translated extensively into European vernacular languages and continued to serve as the standard schoolbook text on rhetoric during the Renaissance. The work focuses on the practical applications and examples of rhetoric. It is also the first book to teach rhetoric in a highly structured and disciplined form.
Its discussion of elocutio (style) is the oldest surviving systematic treatment of Latin style, and many of the examples are of contemporary Roman events. This new style, which flowered in the century following this work's writing, promoted revolutionary advances in Roman literature and oratory. However, according to some analysts, teaching oratory in Latin was inherently controversial because oratory was seen as a political tool, which had to be kept in the hands of the Greek-speaking upper class. [2] The Rhetorica ad Herennium can be seen as part of a liberal populist movement, carried forward by those, like L. Plotius Gallus, who was the first to open a school of rhetoric at Rome conducted entirely in Latin. He opened the school in 93 BCE. [3] The work contains the first known description of the method of loci, a mnemonic technique. Ad Herennium also provides the first complete treatment of memoria (memorization of speeches). [4]
According to the work, there are three types of causes that a speaker would address:
The Rhetorica ad Herennium suggests that in a standard format for argument (widely followed today in any five part essay) there were six steps:
The Rhetorica ad Herennium divides oral rhetoric into three styles. Each style has traits that make it most effective for specific purposes in oration.
Book 4 of the Rhetorica ad Herennium's systematic treatment of Latin oratory style identifies two categories of rhetorical devices, or Figures. These are Figures of Diction, which are identifiable in the language itself, and Figures of Thought, which are derived from the ideas presented. Although these figures have been in use in rhetoric throughout history, the Rhetorica ad Herennium was the first text to compile them and discuss the effects they have on an audience. Many of the following figures described in Book 4 are still used in modern rhetoric, though they were originally intended specifically for use in oral debate.
The Figures of Diction include the following:
The repetition of the same word in these four figures produces an elegant and pleasant sound for the listener, rather than simply being repetitive.
These figures use conversational style to hold the audience's attention.
Both these figures create emphasis on the independent words or clauses within the entire thought; Period is the opposite, in which words in a sentence are close-packed and uninterrupted to form a complete thought.
Disjunction happens when two or more clauses end in verbs with similar meanings, conjunction when the clauses are connected by one verb between them, and adjunction when the verb connecting the clauses is located at the beginning or end. The author groups these three figures together, stating that disjunction is best suited for limited use to convey elegance while one should use conjunction more frequently for its brevity.
Reduplication is the repetition of words for emphasis or an appeal to pity. Synonymy or Interpretation is similar to reduplication, only instead of repeating the same word it replaces it with a synonym. Reciprocal change is when two differing thoughts are arranged so that one follows the other despite the discrepancy (example: I do not write poems, because I cannot write the sort I wish, and I do not wish to write the sort I can). Surrender evokes pity by submitting to another's opinion on the topic. A speaker uses indecision by asking rhetorically which of two or more words he should use. Elimination lists multiple options or possibilities, and then systematically removes all except one of them, the point the speaker is arguing. Asyndeton is the presentation of concise clauses connected without conjunctions, which the Rhetorica ad Herennium claims creates animation and power in the speech. Aposiopesis occurs when a speaker deliberately does not finish a statement about his opponent, allowing suspicion of his opponent to settle in the audience. Conclusion identifies the necessary consequences or results of a previous statement.
The author distinguishes the last ten figures of diction from the rest. The common characteristic of these ten figures is the application of language beyond the strict meaning of the words. The first he identifies as Onomatopoeia, the term given for words assigned to sounds we cannot properly imitate with language, such as "hiss" or "roar." Antonomasia or pronomination is the use of an epithet when addressing a person or object in place of their proper name. Metonymy occurs when an object is referred to as something closely associated with it rather than its proper name. Periphrasis is the use of more words than are necessary to express a simple idea (example: "The steadiness of the tortoise defeated the impatience of the hare," rather than "The tortoise defeated the hare,"). Hyperbaton upsets the order of the words used. Hyperbole exaggerates the truth. Synecdoche occurs when a whole point is understood when only a small part is addressed. Catachresis is the use of an inexact but similar word in place of the proper one (example: The power of man is short). The author defines metaphor as the application of one object to another due to some indirect similarity, and allegory as the implication of multiple meanings to a phrase beyond the actual letter of the words used.
The Figures of Thought include: Distribution, which assigns specific roles to a number of objects or people in order to identify their place in the structure of the argument, and frankness of speech, in which the speaker exercises his right to speak freely despite the presence of superiors. Understatement occurs when a speaker downplays a particular advantage he might have over someone in order to avoid appearing arrogant. Vivid description describes the consequences of something with impressive and elaborate detail. Division separates all the possible causes of something, and then resolves them with reasoning that is connected. Accumulation is the connection of all the points made throughout an argument at the end of a speech, adding emphasis to the conclusion. Dwelling on the point is the continuous repetition of the same point, while refining disguises dwelling on the same topic by continuously saying the same thing in new ways. Dialogue is used as a figure of thought when the speaker puts words in the mouth of his opponent for the sake of rhetorical conversation to illustrate his point. Comparisons point out similar traits in different people or objects, while exemplification is the citing of something done in the past along with the name of the person or thing that did it. Portrayal identifies a person with a physical description rather than their name, while character delineation identifies a person with noticeable elements of their character or personality. Both of these figures allow the speaker to draw particular attentions to specific traits of that person. Personification assigns an inanimate object or an absent person traits to help the audience understand its character. Emphasis leaves more to be suspected about a topic than what is actually said, while conciseness is the precise expression of a thought using the least amount of language possible. Ocular demonstration is similar to vivid description, though the emphasis is on the visual elements of the scene described. [5]
At the request of William of Santo Stefano, the Rhetorica ad Herennium was translated into Old French by John of Antioch in 1282. [6]
Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into schemes, which vary the ordinary sequence of words, and tropes, where words carry a meaning other than what they ordinarily signify.
In rhetoric, chiasmus or, less commonly, chiasm, is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".
In rhetoric, a rhetorical device, persuasive device, or stylistic device is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a perspective, using language designed to encourage or provoke an emotional display of a given perspective or action. They seek to make a position or argument more compelling than it would otherwise be.
In rhetoric, zeugma and syllepsis are figures of speech in which a single phrase or word joins different parts of a sentence.
A glittering generality or glowing generality is an emotionally appealing phrase so closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs that it carries conviction without supporting information or reason. Such highly valued concepts attract general approval and acclaim. Their appeal is to emotions such as love of country and home, and desire for peace, freedom, glory, and honor. They ask for approval without examination of the reason. They are typically used in propaganda posters/advertisements and used by propagandists and politicians.
Decorum was a principle of classical rhetoric, poetry, and theatrical theory concerning the fitness or otherwise of a style to a theatrical subject. The concept of decorum is also applied to prescribed limits of appropriate social behavior within set situations.
Pathos appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is a term used most often in rhetoric, as well as in literature, film and other narrative art.
Dispositio is the system used for the organization of arguments in the context of Western classical rhetoric. The word is Latin, and can be translated as "organization" or "arrangement".
Elocutio is a Latin term for the mastery of rhetorical devices and figures of speech in Western classical rhetoric. Elocutio or style is the third of the five canons of classical rhetoric that concern the craft and delivery of speeches and writing.
Aristotle's Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the 4th century BCE. The English title varies: typically it is Rhetoric, the Art of Rhetoric, On Rhetoric, or a Treatise on Rhetoric.
Geoffrey of Vinsauf is a representative of the early medieval grammarian movement, termed preceptive grammar for its interest in teaching the ars poetica.
Owing to its origin in ancient Greece and Rome, English rhetorical theory frequently employs Greek and Latin words as terms of art. This page explains commonly used rhetorical terms in alphabetical order. The brief definitions here are intended to serve as a quick reference rather than an in-depth discussion. For more information, click the terms.
The epideictic oratory, also called ceremonial oratory, or praise-and-blame rhetoric, is one of the three branches, or "species" (eidē), of rhetoric as outlined in Aristotle's Rhetoric, to be used to praise or blame during ceremonies.
The art of memory is any of a number of loosely associated mnemonic principles and techniques used to organize memory impressions, improve recall, and assist in the combination and 'invention' of ideas. An alternative term is "Ars Memorativa" which is also translated as "art of memory" although its more literal meaning is "Memorative Art". It is also referred to as mnemotechnics. It is an 'art' in the Aristotelian sense, which is to say a method or set of prescriptions that adds order and discipline to the pragmatic, natural activities of human beings. It has existed as a recognized group of principles and techniques since at least as early as the middle of the first millennium BCE, and was usually associated with training in rhetoric or logic, but variants of the art were employed in other contexts, particularly the religious and the magical.
In philosophy, lexis is a complete group of words in a language, vocabulary, the total set of all words in a language, and all words that have meaning or a function in grammar.
The Rhetoric to Alexander is a treatise traditionally attributed to Aristotle. It is now generally believed to be the work of Anaximenes of Lampsacus.
In classical rhetoric, figures of speech are classified as one of the four fundamental rhetorical operations or quadripartita ratio: addition (adiectio), omission (detractio), permutation (immutatio) and transposition (transmutatio).
Verbosity, or verboseness, is speech or writing that uses more words than necessary. The opposite of verbosity is succinctness.
In rhetoric, parallel syntax is a rhetorical device that consists of repetition among adjacent sentences or clauses. The repeated sentences or clauses provide emphasis to a central theme or idea the author is trying to convey. Parallelism is the mark of a mature language speaker.
